Category Archives: Station

The Brockville & Ottawa Railway

ca.1865

This early photograph shows the ‘Renfrew’, one of eleven wood-burning locomotives operated by the Brockville & Ottawa Railway in the 1860s.

It is standing in front of the first B&O depot built ca.1860, and located on the Brockville waterfront, south of the Brockville Railway Tunnel.

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The Grand Trunk Railway

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ca.1858

This rare photograph was taken, I believe, in the first years of the operation of the Grand Trunk Railway. It shows the formal garden planted at the new Brockville GTR station grounds. This station was located on the south side of the new line from Montreal to Toronto. The line was completed as far as Brockville in 1855.

In the background you can see two wood-burning locomotives and tenders. The platform is lined with men, women and children and in the garden are two men and two women. The corner of the passenger station shows on the left of this picture and one of the freight offices is in the right background.

A new “Union Station” was built a few years later in 1872 on the north side of the main line GTR tracks to serve passengers of both the Brockville & Ottawa Railway and the Grand Trunk.

The Railway from Brockville to Westport

(commonly called the B&W)

ca.1895

One of the steam engines being run by the Brockville, Westport and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. It is located in this photo at the Brockville waterfront wharf of the CPR near the mouth of Buell’s Creek.

The B&W shared a portion of the west end loop which ran from the station above to the St. Lawrence River where the trans-shipment of passengers and freight was possible.

Photograph from the collection of Library and Archives Canada – PA 164368

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ca. 1910

This is one of the B&W trains waiting at the Brockville Station House or Depot of the Brockville, Westport & North-Western Railway, which was located on the south side of Church St., just west of Buell’s Creek.

The wood-frame building, pictured here behind the train, was built in 1890. It was 64 feet long x 38 ft. wide and contained a waiting room, washrooms, agent’s room, brick vault, band baggage and freight rooms on the ground floor. There were six offices for staff on the second floor. The third floor was the caretakers apartment.

Just east of this point, the B&W shared part of the loop line with the Canadian Pacific Railway to travel a short distance to the shore of the St. Lawrence River, where passengers and freight could meet some of the river steam ships.

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The Grand Trunk Railway came to Brockville in 1855 when the main line from Montreal to Toronto was completed and opened as far as Brockville.

Brockville was made a divisional point on the GTR, which established this town as a major transportation site.

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about 1950

An aerial view of the main railway facilities in Brockville. Notable in this photograph are the remains of the large Cossitt Bros. Agricultural Implement Factory on Brock St., and the 90-foot turntable north of the factory buildings. The concrete overpass on William Street remains to be built at this point.

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This view of the rail yards in Brockville is looking east from about William St. toward the engines flanking the turntable.

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A closer view of the 90-foot turntable that was visible in the distance in the photograph above.

Note the eleven numbered engines awaiting their next assignments in the Brockville yards.

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About 1910

The new Union Railway Station and Depot was built here in 1872 to serve both of the rail lines which were crossing at Brockville. The new station was placed just east of Perth St. on the north side of the Grand Trunk tracks. It is still being used by VIARail for passenger service in Brockville.

After 1872, the passenger trains of the Brockville & Ottawa Railway which ran north and south between Brockville and Sand Point, near Arnprior, on the Ottawa River used this station in Brockville. Previously the Grand Trunk depot was located on the south side of the tracks, at the head of Buell St. The B&O Railway depot was located in town south of Water St. near to the approach to Blockhouse Island.

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1890s

This shows five employees trying to look busy in the yard office of the Grand Trunk Railway in the 1890s.

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30 August 1952

CN 2-6-0 #86 engine, standing at the Brockville Station, ready to take its last regular run of the Westport Mixed train

on the Brockville to Westport line of the former Brockville & Westport Railway.

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